The Crucifix Killer

Fifty-Seven

59, 58, 57… Hunter’s eyes were fixed on the digital display just above Garcia’s head. His heart pounded against his chest like a sledgehammer. Despite the basement room feeling like a sauna, Hunter felt cold. A freezing cold that came from inside making him shiver.

Choose a color… any color, he thought. Black, white, blue or red. The colors flashed in front of his eyes like a psychedelic film. He looked at Garcia nailed to the cross. Blood dripping down his face from the barbed-wire crown that had been rammed into his head.

‘This is a simple game,’ as the metallic voice from the tape recorder had explained. Pick the correct color and the door on the bulletproof Perspex cage will open. Hunter would be able to get to Garcia and get the hell out of that place. Pick the wrong color and an uninterrupted high-voltage current will be sent directly to the crown on Garcia’s head. If that wasn’t sadistic enough, explosives placed behind the cage would detonate, blowing the whole room to high heaven if the monitor reading Garcia’s heartbeat displayed a flatline.

Garcia seemed to have passed out again.

‘Rookie, stay with me,’ Hunter shouted, hammering his fists against the cage’s door.

No movement – no response.

‘Carlos…’ The loud shout echoed across the basement room.

A slight head movement this time.

Hunter checked the heart monitor once again. The small ball of light was still peaking.

43, 42, 41…

‘C’mon, rookie, stay with me,’ he pleaded before looking around the room for any clues, anything that could point him to a specific button. He found nothing.

Less than two months. Garcia had joined the RHD less than two months ago. Why did he have to be paired up with me? Hunter cursed. This shouldn’t have been his first case.

Garcia’s body convulsed slightly, forcing Hunter’s thoughts back to the basement room.

32, 31, 30…

How much blood has he lost? Even if I get him out of here he might not make it. He hoped Garcia was stronger than he looked.

Just a few seconds to death. Hunter’s brain was working as fast as it could, but he knew he needed a miracle to figure out which button to go for. A guess was all he was left with. He felt mentally exhausted. He was sick and tired of playing these games. Games he knew he could never win because the killer had too much of an upper hand. Even now, he had no guarantees that the Crucifix Killer was telling the truth. Maybe none of the buttons would unlock the cage door. Maybe he was walking into certain death.

Hunter turned and faced the basement door. He could still get out of there alive.

‘If I stay here I’m as good as dead,’ he whispered.

For a split second he forgot everything he’d ever believed in and considered running for his life. The thought made him sick and ashamed.

‘What the fuck am I thinking? We ain’t dead yet.’

15, 14, 13…

‘Shit!’ He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes as tight as he could. ‘This is it, pick a fucking button, Robert!’ he told himself. ‘Color coded, why color coded? The killer could’ve used numbers, why give them colors?’

He knew he was running out of time.

‘He’s playing a fucking game again, just like the dog race…’ He suddenly stopped in a fright. ‘The dog race… the winner, what color was it?’ He tried to think. He knew it was dog number two, but what color was its jacket?

‘Shit, what color was the winner?’ he shouted out loud.

His eyes lifted from the buttons and met Garcia’s who had regained consciousness again.

6, 5, 4…

‘I’m sorry,’ Hunter said with sadness in his eyes. He was about to reach for one of the buttons when he saw Garcia’s lips move. They emitted no sound but Hunter could easily read them.

‘Blue…’

Hunter didn’t have time to hesitate. He pressed the blue button.

2…

The digital display froze. The Perspex cage door emitted a humming sound and clicked open. Hunter’s face transformed into one huge smile. ‘I’ll be damned!’ He ran inside and lifted Garcia’s chin from his bloody chest. ‘Hang in there, buddy.’

Hunter quickly assessed the inside of the cage. Garcia’s hands had been nailed to the wooden cross. There was no way he’d be able to free him. He had to call for help.

‘C’mon, give me a fucking signal,’ he shouted as he tried his cell phone. It was no good, he had to go back up to ground level.

‘Hold on, rookie, I’m gonna go call for help. I’ll be right back.’ But Garcia had already drifted back into unconsciousness. Hunter stepped out of the cage and started towards the door but a beeping sound made him stop and turn back. His eyes widened in horror.

‘You’re fucking kidding me!’